Plans to expand university backed by council

The University of Hertfordshire has a new masterplan for future development

Plans for significant development at a university have been backed by the local authority.

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council has endorsed a masterplan for the University of Hertfordshire which could include new buildings for health and social work as well as for new schools of medicine and business.

Older buildings at the College Lane campus in Hatfield are also due to be demolished, with new green space created.

While each individual project will still require planning permission, the masterplan will be considered when those planning applications are made.

Older buildings at the College Lane campus could be demolished under the new masterplan

Rose Grewal, executive member for planning at the council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she was "delighted" the scheme had been backed by cabinet.

She said it demonstrated the council's "in principle support" for the university's plans.

During the cabinet meeting, Grewal said the buildings would "bring considerable benefits to the borough, including a new medical school at the College Lane campus, and a new business school at the de Havilland campus".

The university's previous masterplan, completed in 2019, included plans for a new building for the school of physics, engineering, and computer science, which opened earlier this year.

Impact on green belt

The university's two campuses currently have 36,000 students and 3,000 staff, though it hopes to increase the number of students by 2,000 in the coming years.

Former council leader Paul Zukowskyj raised concerns at the meeting about "blocks that are multiple storeys high" within the new development.

He said he believed the university "pays little regard to the impact on the green belt".

Grewal responded that each individual application would be assessed against planning policy, including any impact on previously undeveloped green belt land.